Mixed Media Supplies

You know–that white paint looking stuff that “fine” artists use to prep their canvas before they paint it? In mixed media artwork, gesso is so much more. I slather it everywhere! Hehe. Modeling paste is fun as well.

Digital Programs

I thought I would make the list about Adobe alternatives, since everyone already knows about Photoshop and Illustrator. Believe it or not, there really are cheaper (even free!) programs out there that can hold their own with Adobe.

This is my go to “work-horse” program. It’s a free, open-source software, totally equal to Photoshop. I create book covers here, polish up artwork and do just about everything here. It’s great for both image editing and digital art creation. And again–it’s free!

Okay, this program is currently my new love and obsession. First there’s an app for Android, as well as Windows (Mac and iOS too). Second the tools and brushes mimic real life art supplies. I can’t get enough of it!

And of course, speaking of vector’s, Inkscape is not only free but considered an able competitor to Illustrator. At the moment in mostly use them to turn raster images of my artwork into larger vector files. Inkscape does this well. And if you are like me and just learning about vector’s, why not try out Vectr? You can download it free or use it online, and its extremely easy and intuitive (a rarity among vector softwares).

Websites

And of course, the list is not complete without a list of places to learn and gather ideas!

Anything you wish to learn, just ask Youtube and it’ll have a video showing how its done. And who can resist a time lapse video of someone else making art? Not I, that’s for sure. If you want want a place to start, check out Moriah Elizabeth, author of Create This Book.